NEW YORK — The Bulls felt the impact of Wendell Carter Jr.’s return on the first possession of Saturday’s game.
Knicks guard Elfrid Payton drove toward the basket and made a move to get past Shaquille Harrison, only to be met at the rim by Carter, who swatted Payton’s shot away with his left hand before corralling the ball at the baseline. It was the kind of rim protection the Bulls were missing since Carter went down with a high right ankle sprain Jan. 6, and the defense had plummeted since then.
“It definitely felt good to start the game off like that,” Carter said. “To make sure everybody knew that my presence was felt.”
Aside from that early highlight, Carter spent most of his first game back reacclimating himself. He scored six points on 1-for-5 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in 18 minutes in the Bulls’ 125-115 loss.
The Bulls dropped to a season-low 20 games under .500 at 20-40 in a season that began with postseason aspirations.
Injuries, inconsistencies and regressions have wrecked those once-high hopes, but the Bulls are starting to get healthy again even though Carter’s minutes will be limited for the time being while he still feels some discomfort in his ankle, which he acknowledged still felt “funny” at times.
It also became apparent quickly Saturday that he will need time to regain his stamina after sitting out so long.
“I got winded first trip down the court,” Carter said with a laugh. “I’ve done plenty of sprints, plenty of different things throughout practice and things like that, but it’s nothing like being in an arena in front of a lot of people, banging and hitting other players.”
Zach LaVine, who tweaked one of his quads during warmups but played a team-high 37 minutes, led the Bulls with 26 points. Coby White added 22 points for his fourth straight game with at least 20.
Despite the return of their best rim protector, however, the Bulls could not contain the Knicks inside. The hosts scored 76 points in the paint — the most the Bulls have allowed this season — and put together a rebounding advantage of 50-33.
“It definitely bothers me as a player,” Carter said. “I just feel like that’s a recipe for disaster. I feel like if we can’t be tougher as a team we’re going to lose that battle every time.
“I’m not (going to) blame it on me not being 100%, but I wasn’t playing physical enough tonight obviously. That’s something I just have to approach every game and make sure my presence is felt.”
Carter had been playing well in his second NBA season before the injury struck, averaging right around double digits in points and rebounds while the team credited him as the anchor of a surprisingly strong defense. The Bulls have watched as their defense has tanked in his absence. Carter’s time away, coupled with the loss of Kris Dunn last month, erased what had been one of the Bulls’ few strengths.
They were tied for sixth in the NBA in defensive efficiency (105.6) after 37 games before Carter was injured. In the 22 games after the injury, however, they ranked 22nd (113.7).
“He has unbelievable feet and instincts for a guy that big and young,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said before the game. “He’s 280 pounds and he’s got feet like a 180-pound guy. He’s got feet like a boxer. He can move them, he can shift them, and he can stay in a stance for a guy that big for a long time.
“He has tremendous defensive instincts and physical presence, and he embraces contact and collision, he’s intelligent.”
Carter’s return marked the first in what the Bulls hope will be a long line of players coming back from injury. They dressed only nine players for the last three games, and their rotations have been disjointed as players have been forced to fill roles they were not intended to play.
That makes the final 22 games somewhat of an evaluation period for the organization, a chance to determine where their core stands before an offseason that reportedly will bring changes to the front office structure.
Saturday provided the first pair of boosts to their lineup, with Carter’s return alongside forward Denzel Valentine, who played in his first game since a Feb. 2 hamstring injury cost him seven games. Valentine played 10 minutes in his return and scored eight points, all during a 63-second outburst at the end of the third quarter.
The Bulls are hopeful for more reinforcements soon. Lauri Markkanen, who is out with a pelvic injury, still has not been cleared for contact, but he has increased his activity on the court in the last few days. Otto Porter Jr.’s progress from a fractured left foot also continues to move along at a sluggish pace, and the team remains hopeful he will return this season even though he has not played since November.
“I feel good for everybody coming back,” LaVine said. “I just hope we can stay locked in and finish these games.”
“I just try to focus on what I can do, and if I can look myself in the mirror and say I did everything that I can do to finish this game I’m happy with that.”
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